Sunak would prefer to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Johnson refused to try to return

LONDON (Reuters) – Rishi Sunak looked on the cusp of becoming Britain’s next prime minister after Boris Johnson pulled out of the contest on Sunday, saying that while he had enough support for the final vote, he realized the country and the Conservative Party needed to unite. .

Johnson had returned home from a holiday in the Caribbean to try to secure the support of 100 MPs for Monday’s contest to replace Liz Truss, the woman who succeeded him in September after he was forced to resign by a series of scandals.

He said he had the support of 102 lawmakers and would have “come back to Downing Street”, but failed to persuade Sunak or other rival Penny Mordaunt to come together “in the national interest”.

“I think I have a lot to offer but I’m afraid this is simply not the time,” Johnson said late on Sunday.

The former prime minister had the public support of just under 60 Conservative MPs by Sunday, well short of half of the nearly 150 endorsements that Sunak received.

The pound rose more than half a cent against the dollar in early trade in Asia.

Johnson’s statement is likely to pave the way for his arch-rival, 42-year-old former finance minister Sunak, to become prime minister, possibly on Monday. If confirmed, it will replace Truss, who was forced to resign after she launched an economic program that sparked turmoil in financial markets.

Under the rules, if only one candidate has the support of 100 Conservative MPs, they will be appointed prime minister on Monday.

If two of the candidates cross the threshold, they will go ahead with a vote on party membership, with the winner announced on Friday, just days before new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will reveal the country’s financial position in a budget plan due to be released. On October 31.

This has raised fears that Johnson will return to Downing Street with the support of party members, not a majority of lawmakers in Parliament, leaving the party deeply divided. Hunt announced his support for Sunak late Sunday.

Some Johnson supporters might turn to Mordaunt, who presented herself as the unit candidate, but many immediately turned to Sunak. A source close to Mordaunt’s campaign said the former defense minister would continue to compete.

“It’s the unifying candidate who is most likely to hold the Tory wings together,” the source said.

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Johnson has loomed large over British politics since becoming mayor of London in 2008 and went on to become the face of the Brexit vote in 2016. As he led the Conservative Party to a landslide election in 2019, he was forced to step down for three years. Only later his ministers rebelled.

Sunak said he hoped Johnson would continue to contribute to public life “at home and abroad”.

One Sunak supporter, who asked not to be named, said his main reaction was relief that if Johnson had won “the party would have torn itself apart”.

“I supported Boris for prime minister, but I think he did the right thing for the country,” Lucy Allen, another Conservative lawmaker, said on Twitter.

Johnson’s other supporters immediately jumped ship.

“Today is a long time in politics,” said Cabinet Office Minister Nadim al-Zahawi, who, minutes ago, published an article on the Daily Telegraph’s website praising Johnson.

“Rishi is very talented, he will have a strong majority in the Parliamentary Conservative Party, and he will have my full support and loyalty,” he said.

Earlier, many Conservative lawmakers who normally support Johnson turned their support to Sunak, saying the country needed a period of stability after months of turmoil that made headlines – and alarmed – around the world.

Johnson also still faces a concessions committee investigation into whether he misled Parliament about Downing Street parties during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He may be forced to resign or suspended from office if found guilty.

Sunak first attracted national attention when at the age of 39 he became Johnson’s chancellor as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain, where he developed a furlough scheme to support millions of people through multiple lockdowns.

“I have acted as your advisor, helping to guide our economy through the most difficult times,” Sunak said in a statement on Sunday. “The challenges we face now are greater. But the opportunities – if we make the right choice – are enormous.”

If selected, Sunak would be the UK’s first Indian Prime Minister.

His family immigrated to Britain in the 1960s, a period when many former British colonies arrived to help rebuild the country after World War II.

After graduating from Oxford, he later went to Stanford University where he met his wife Akshata Murthy, whose father was Indian billionaire NR Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys.

Written by Kate Holton; Additional reporting by William Schomberg and Maria Ponzatt; Editing by Toby Chopra and Daniel Wallis

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